Temporal associations in fig-wasp-ant interactions: diel and phenological patterns

In a complex multitrophic plant-animal interaction system in which there are direct and indirect interactions between species, comprehending the dynamics of these multiple partners is very important for an understanding of how the system is structured. We investigated the plant Ficus racemosa L. (Moraceae) and its community of obligatory mutualistic and parasitic fig wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) that develop within the fig inflorescence or syconium, as well as their interaction with opportunistic ants. We focused on temporal resource partitioning among members of the fig wasp community over the development cycle of the fig syconia during which wasp oviposition and development occur and we studied the activity rhythm of the ants associated with this community. We found that the seven members of the wasp community partitioned their oviposition across fig syconium development phenology and showed interspecific variation in activity across the day-night cycle. The wasps presented a distinct sequence in their arrival at fig syconia for oviposition, with the parasitoid wasps following the galling wasps. Although fig wasps are known to be largely diurnal, we documented night oviposition in several fig wasp species for the first time. Ant activity on the fig syconia was correlated with wasp activity and was dependent on whether the ants were predatory or trophobiont-tending species; only numbers of predatory ants increased during peak arrivals of the wasps.

非传粉小蜂的食性及其对榕树- 传粉小蜂系统稳定性的影响

榕树与其传粉小蜂形成了高度专一的互惠共生系统。非传粉小蜂则是该系统的资源掠夺者, 但它与 该系统共存的机制仍不清楚。于2003 年12 月—2004 年4 月在西双版纳以聚果榕( Ficus racemosa L. ) 为材料, 研究了寄生在聚果榕榕果内的5 种非传粉小蜂的食性及相互关系, 以探讨非传粉小蜂与榕树- 传粉小蜂系统共 存的机制。结果表明: 寄生在聚果榕榕果内的5 种非传粉小蜂中, 仅Platyneura testacea Motschulsky 和Platyneu2 ra mayri Rasplus 能刺激子房发育成瘿花, 是造瘿者; Apocrypta sp . , Apocrypta westwoodi Grandi 和Platyneura a2 graensis Joseph 不能刺激子房发育成瘿花, 是拟寄生者。传粉小蜂的拟寄生者和造瘿者对传粉小蜂有负的影响, 但在蚂蚁和造瘿者的拟寄生蜂作用下, 这种负面影响并不显著, 而且它们对榕树繁殖没有显著影响。对小蜂自 然种群的分析表明, 传粉小蜂处于优势地位。说明在自然情况下传粉小蜂的拟寄生者和造瘿者的种群维持在一 个较低水平, 对榕树- 传粉小蜂系统稳定性影响较小, 故能与之长期共存。

Seasonal changes in the trade-off among fig-supported wasps and viable seeds in figs and their evolutionary implications

What the real trade-off is among fig-supported wasps and the viable seeds of figs is heatedly debated in the studies of fig/fig wasp mutualism. In the present study, we collected wasp offspring (galls) and the viable seeds of premature fruits, and determined the foundress number in receptive fruits and all the types of wasps supported by Ficus racemosa L. during both the rainy and dry seasons in Xishuangbanna, China. The data show that the galls were positively correlated with viable seeds (n=32;r=0.74; P < 0.001) when the proportion of vacant female flowers (PVFF) was high, in April (68.0%), and were negatively correlated with viable seeds (n=48;r=-0.59; P < 0.05) when PVFF were limited (PVFF 42.6%) during a colder month (January). The mean foundress number per fruit during the colder months is significantly lower than during the warmer months (F-5,F-603 = 27.9; P < 0.001) and pollinator wasps can live longer during the colder months, During the colder months, the proportions of non-pollinators and wasp offspring are higher than those found during other months, whereas the proportion of viable seeds is not different compared with that of other months. Non-pollinator wasps tend to oviposit the female flowers that have been oviposited by pollinator wasps. The non-pollinators only negatively affect pollinator wasps and there is no obvious negative effect of non-pollinator wasps on viable seeds, so ovipositing by non-pollinator wasps will not result in the extinction of the figs during the process of evolution. The results of the present study indicate that figs can allow less foundresses to be in fruit cavities when PVFF are limited, which provides supporting evidence for the previous assumption that the plants have developed a mechanism to maintain a stable system because of the conflicts between the parties involved.

Vom Biofilm zur planktonischen Lebensform

Im ersten Teil dieser Dissertation stand die Analyse der Motilitätsentwicklung bei Vertretern der Gattung Methylobacterium im Vordergrund. Diese zu den pink pigmentierten fakultativ methylotrophen Mikroorganismen (PPFMs) gehörenden Prokaryoten sind in der Umwelt weit verbreitet. Besonders häufig besiedeln die Mikroben pflanzliche Oberfl��chen und können als so genannte Phytosymbionten in einer wechselseitigen Beziehung zu pflanzlichen Organismen stehen. In aquatischer Umgebung können Methylobakterien Flagellen aufweisen. Hierbei handelt es sich um spezielle Fortbewegungsorganellen, die den Mikroben eine aktive Beweglichkeit ermöglichen. Die Ausbildung polarer Einzelflagellen bei Methylobacterium-Zellen in planktonischer Lebensweise konnte unter Anwendung verschiedener mikroskopischer Techniken dokumentiert werden. Quantitative Beweglichkeitsstudien zeigten einen charakteristischen Entwicklungsverlauf, korreliert mit den Wachstumsphasen der Bakterienkulturen und machten deutlich, dass die Motilitätsrate durch Umweltfaktoren, wie z. B. die Nährstoffversorgung, beeinflusst werden kann. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Pflanzen-assoziierten PPFMs in der Lage sind, zwischen einer sessilen und planktonischen Lebensweise zu wechseln und dass sowohl die zellul��re Beweglichkeit als auch die Biofilm-Bildung der Prokaryoten ein reversibles, reaktivierbares Verhalten darstellt. Weiterhin konnte belegt werden, dass die Motilität der epiphytischen Mikroben bezüglich der Besiedelung von Pflanzen, z. B. bei der Ausbreitung auf Keimblatt-Oberfl��chen von Sonnenblumen (Helianthus annuus), keine zentrale Rolle spielt und eine endophytische Lebensweise unwahrscheinlich ist. Ziel der Arbeit war weiterhin die Charakterisierung und Identifizierung eines aus der Phyllosphäre der Echten Feige (Ficus carica, Standort Griechenland) isolierten Bakterien-Stammes (Mtb. sp. Fc1). Die fakultativ methylotrophe Stoffwechseleigenschaft, sowie die auffällige rötliche Pigmentierung belegen, dass es sich um einen Vertreter der PPFMs handelt. Die Analyse morphologischer, physiologischer und biochemischer Eigenschaften bestätigte in Übereinstimmung mit molekularphylogenetischen Untersuchungen zur Klassifizierung und taxonomischen Einordnung, dass es sich um Pflanzen-assoziierte Mikroben der Gattung Methylobacterium handelt. Analysen der 16S rDNA sowie partieller Sequenzen der für Methylobakterien etablierten Marker-Gene mxaF und gyrB verdeutlichten die phylogenetische Stellung und die evolutionären Beziehungen des Ficus-Isolates. Obwohl enge Verwandtschaftsverhältnisse zu anderen Methylobacterium-Arten ermittelt werden konnten, war eine Identifizierung als valide beschriebene Spezies nicht möglich. Die Resultate legen den Schluss nahe, dass es sich um eine neue, unbeschriebene Spezies der epiphytisch lebenden Methylobakterien handelt.

Temperaturas basais e soma térmica para a figueira podada em diferentes épocas

Foram determinadas para figueiras podadas em julho, agosto, setembro e outubro, as temperaturas mínima e máxima basais, a soma térmica expressa em graus-dia e a influência da temperatura na duração do período compreendido entre a poda e o início da colheita, em Botucatu-SP, nos anos de 2002 a 2006. Os valores de temperaturas mínima e máxima basal estimados foram de 8ºC e 36 ºC, respectivamente. As épocas de poda que apresentaram melhores resultados em sazonalidade e produtividade foram, respectivamente, agosto e julho, necessitando de uma soma térmica média de 1.955 e 2.200 graus-dia.

First report of black rot of Colocasia esculenta caused by Ceratocystis fimbriata in Brazil

Ceratocystis fimbriata foi encontrado em tubérculos de inhame (Colocasia esculenta), apresentando lesões escuras, pouco profundas, contendo estruturas de reprodução do fungo, cuja coloração variava do cinza ao negro. As amostras foram coletadas em supermercados, quitandas e varejões nos Estados de São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Rondônia e Distrito Federal que, na maioria dos casos, comercializavam inhame produzido no Estado de São Paulo. Os sintomas de podridão negra indicam se tratar de uma doença de pós-colheita. Seqüências de rDNA indicam que os isolados de Colocasia sp. pertencem ao clado da America Latina do complexo C. fimbriata, embora esses isolados sejam mais agressivos em pseudo-pecíolos de C. esculenta do que os isolados de Ficus carica e Mangifera indica.

Search for methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphisms in mutant figs

Fig (Ficus carica) breeding programs that use conventional approaches to develop new cultivars are rare, owing to limited genetic variability and the difficulty in obtaining plants via gamete fusion. Cytosine methylation in plants leads to gene repression, thereby affecting transcription without changing the DNA sequence. Previous studies using random amplification of polymorphic DNA and amplified fragment length polymorphism markers revealed no polymorphisms among select fig mutants that originated from gamma-irradiated buds. Therefore, we conducted methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism analysis to verify the existence of variability due to epigenetic DNA methylation among these mutant selections compared to the main cultivar 'Roxo-de-Valinhos'. Samples of genomic DNA were double-digested with either HpaII (methylation sensitive) or MspI (methylation insensitive) and with EcoRI. Fourteen primer combinations were tested, and on an average, non-methylated CCGG, symmetrically methylated CmCGG, and hemimethylated hmCCGG sites accounted for 87.9, 10.1, and 2.0%, respectively. MSAP analysis was effective in detecting differentially methylated sites in the genomic DNA of fig mutants, and methylation may be responsible for the phenotypic variation between treatments. Further analyses such as polymorphic DNA sequencing are necessary to validate these differences, standardize the regions of methylation, and analyze reads using bioinformatic tools. © FUNPEC-RP.

Dinâmica populacional de Zaprionus indianus (Gupta, 1970) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) sob condições experimentais

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnol��gico (CNPq)

Evapotranspiração e eficiência do uso da água no primeiro ciclo produtivo da figueira 'Roxo de valinhos' submetida a cobertura morta

Evaluated the evapotranspiration (ETc) and the efficiency of water use (USA) by the fig tree 'Purple Valinhos' submitted to irrigation and mulching (bagacilho of sugar cane crushed) in the first production cycle, at conditions of Botucatu, St. Paul. We used the method of soil water balance and to obtain the reference evapotranspiration method was used Montheit FAO Penman 56. For the assessment of crop coefficients (kc) we adopted the following phenological distribution: phase 1 - between transplanting and 20% of the vegetative (DV), ii) phase 2 - 20 to 80% DV, and iii) phase 3 - fruiting. Observe the cumulative ETc 409.4 and 465.8 mm in 254 days after transplanting (DAT) and averages of 1.47 and 1.67 mm day(-1), with and without mulching (CC and SC). The crop coefficients (kc) mediums were 0.16, 0.43 and 0.49 for SC and 0.18, 0.44 and 0.50 for CC, in phases 1 and 3, respectively. The EUA values decrease with increasing the volume of water received and ranged between 1.65 and 3.32 kg of green figs per m(3) of water for irrigated SC and CC.

Variação na curva de crescimento e tamanho de asa de Zaprionus indianus (Gupta, 1970) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) de acordo com diferentes temperaturas

Insetos são estudados como modelos biol��gicos e evolutivos devido, principalmente, ao tamanho reduzido e ciclo de vida curto, tendo importância ecol��gica pelo fato de gerarem diversos benefícios em todos os ecossistemas e estarem presentes em todos os níveis tróficos. A espécie Zaprionus indianus pertence à família Drosophilidae, é nativa da África Tropical e foi recentemente introduzida no Brasil, causando grande preocupação devido aos danos causados na produção de figo roxo (Ficus carica). A temperatura é um dos fatores abióticos que influencia a velocidade de desenvolvimento, fecundidade e dispersão dos insetos, provocando alterações em aspectos morfol��gicos e relativos ao ciclo de vida de drosofil��deos. Estudos sobre a influência da temperatura no desenvolvimento de Z. indianus são importantes para um futuro programa de controle dessa praga, de acordo com as características climáticas de cada região. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito de diferentes temperaturas, em diferentes densidades larvais, sobre a espécie Z. indianus, visando analisar sua curva de crescimento e tamanho de asa. Adultos de Z. indianus foram coletados nas dependências da Universidade Estadual Paulista (Rio Claro - SP), com auxílio de puçá entomol��gico. Da amostra de drosofil��deos coletados, os espécimes de Z. indianus foram identificados e mantidos em potes pl��sticos redondos, estes acondicionados em câmaras climáticas sob condições controladas de temperatura e umidade e fotoperíodo. Foi oferecida como alimento dieta artificial comum de drosofil��deos feita à base de banana. Os ovos obtidos foram contados e separados em densidades de 100 e 500 indivíduos, em duplicata para cada densidade e temperatura testadas; os imaturos foram mantidos sob as mesmas condições que os parentais, exceto pela temperatura que foi estipulada de forma a se estudar os efeitos de três... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)

Adaptations of strangler figs to life in the rainforest canopy

Figs are rainforest keystone species. Non-strangler figs establish on the forest floor; strangler figs establish epiphytically, followed by a dramatic transition from epiphyte to free-standing tree that kills its hosts. Free-standing figs display vigorous growth and resource demand suggesting that epiphytic strangler figs require special adaptations to deal with resource limitations imposed by the epiphytic environment. We studied epiphytic and free-standing strangler figs, and non-strangler figs in tropical rainforest and in cultivation, as well as strangler figs in controlled conditions. We investigated whether the transition from epiphyte to free-standing tree is characterised by morphological and physiological plasticity. Epiphyte substrate had higher levels of plant-available ammonium and phosphate, and similar levels of nitrate compared with rainforest soil, suggesting that N and P are initially not limiting resources. A relationship was found between taxonomic groups and plant N physiology; strangler figs, all members of subgenus Urostigma, had mostly low foliar nitrate assimilation rates whereas non-strangler figs, in subgenera Pharmacocycea, Sycidium, Sycomorus or Synoecia, had moderate to high rates. Nitrate is an energetically expensive N source, and low nitrate use may be an adaptation of strangler figs for conserving energy during epiphytic growth. Interestingly, significant amounts of nitrate were stored in fleshy taproot tubers of epiphytic stranglers. Supporting the concept of plasticity, leaves of epiphytic Ficus benjamina L. had lower N and C content per unit leaf area, lower stomatal density and 80% greater specific leaf area than leaves of conspecific free-standing trees. Similarly, glasshouse-grown stranglers strongly increased biomass allocation to roots under water limitation. Epiphytic and free-standing F. benjamina had similar average foliar delta C-13, but epiphytes had more extreme values; this indicates that both groups of plants use the C-3 pathway of CO2 fixation but that water availability is highly variable for epiphytes. We hypothesise that epiphytic figs use fleshy stem tubers to avoid water stress, and that nitrate acts as an osmotic compound in tubers. We conclude that strangler figs are a unique experimental system for studying the transition from rainforest epiphyte to tree, and the genetic and environmental triggers involved.

The host specificity and climatic suitability of the gall fly Cecidochares connexa (Diptera: Tephritidae), a potential biological control agent for Chromolaena odorata (Asteraceae) in Australia

Host specificity tests on Gynaikothrips ficorum (Marchal) and Gynaikothrips uzeli (Zimmerman) (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae) have shown that under experimental conditions, G. ficorum will induce leaf galls on both Ficus benjamina L. and Ficus microcarpa L. f. (Rosales: Moraceae), but G. uzeli will induce galls only on F. benjamina. A further interesting aspect of the results is that gall induction by G. uzeli on F. benjamina appears to have been suppressed in the presence of F. microcarpa plants in the same cage. Liothrips takahashii (Moulton) (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae), an inquiline in the galls of these Gynaikothrips, is reported for the first time from Australia, mainland China, Malaysia, Costa Rica, and western USA.